The Manchester Computer: A Revised History Part 2: The Baby Computer

Author

Copeland, B. Jack

Author_Institution

Univ. of Canterbury in Christchurch, Christchurch, New Zealand

Volume

33

Issue

1

fYear

2011

Firstpage

22

Lastpage

37

Abstract

The logical design of the 1948 Manchester Baby was virtually identical to a 1946 Princeton design. However, thanks to F.C. Williams´ and Tom Kilburn´s groundbreaking cathode ray tube (CRT) memory and their innovative engineering, the universal electronic digital computer made its world debut in Manchester. This article reassesses the place of Williams and Kilburn in the history of computing.

Keywords

cathode-ray tubes; microcomputers; Manchester computer; baby computer; cathode ray tube memory; innovative engineering; universal electronic digital computer; A.M. Turing; Automatic Computing Engine (ACE); Bletchley Park; Colossus; F.C. Williams.; I.J. Good; J. von Neumann; J.P. Eckert; M.H.A. Newman; Manchester Baby Computer; Manchester Mark I Computer; Moore School; Princeton Computer; R.A. McConnell; Royal Society Computing Machine Laboratory; Small-Scale Experimental Machine (SSEM); T. Kilburn; Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE); Turing-Wilkinson Lecture Series; Williams tube (cathode ray tube memory);

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Annals of the History of Computing, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1058-6180

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/MAHC.2010.2

Filename

5383335